Food for Cities - international symposium

On 27-28 Arpil 2015 the Copenhagen House of Food, Chora Connection, and the Copenhagen Hospitality College jointly held an initial symposium, which was the starting point for a multi-year endeavour to create a sustainable food system that connects urban and rural development.

Our main goal was to explore the role cities play in future food
systems and to take necessary actions with a new, ambitious
urban-rural strategy. The goal of the symposium was to explore the
role of cities in sustainable food systems and to create a
comprehensive strategy for future collaborations.

Background
Over the past 15 years, Copenhagen has converted the 60,000 daily
meals it serves in all public kitchens within the municipality to
90% organic - all accomplished within existing budgetary
parameters. In itself, this represents an investment in the
education of staff in over 1,400 kitchens. Further, the
Municipality of Copenhagen has developed a school meal system for
the 6,000 pupils of the Copenhagen public school system that is 75
% organic - and aim to reach 90 % in 2015.

The symposium on the role of cities in sustainable food systems
was the first step in a multi-year, on-going intervention in
Copenhagen. The organising partners, Chora Connection and
Copenhagen House of Food joined forces to gather local
decision-makers in Copenhagen with a number of internationally
recognized experts to explore how we can support broader social,
environmental and economic sustainability through our food system,
and at the same time forge deeper cohesion between urban and rural
areas.

Copenhagen House of Food and Chora Connection entered into a
partnership to create a framework for sharing knowledge, best
practises and tools regarding a sustainable and resilient food
system. The aim of the symposium was to make a call for action
directed at people in a position to make actual changes and promote
even more ambitious urban food strategies for Copenhagen and
beyond.

The following decision makers and international experts
participated in the symposium:

Frank Jensen, Lord Mayor of Copenhagen
Frank Jensen has been the Lord Mayor of Copenhagen since 2010.
Frank Jensen is a part of the C40 Steering Group and recieved the
European Green Capital Award 2014 and the City Climate Leadership
Award 2013 on behalf of the City of Copenhagen.

Mette Touborg, Mayor of Lejre
Lejre is the first municipality in Denmark to initiate a
comprehensive conversion to organic in every corner of the
municipality. The goal is to make Lejre even more attractive and
liveable and inspire others to walk the same path.

Winni Grossbøll, Mayor of Bornholm
Winni Grossbøll has been Mayor of Regional Municipality of
Bornholm since 2010. Bornholm wants its future to be 100% green; a
carbon-neutral community based on sustainable, renewable
energy.

Olivier De Schutter, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right
to Food 2008-2014
UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food 2008-14, Co-chair of
the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food and Diets
formed in 2014. As UN Special Rapporteur Olivier De Shutter studied
global and local food systems and concluded that cities and public
institutions must take the lead to support sustainable and local
agriculture.

Tim Lang, Professor of Food Policy, City University
London
For over 35 years, Tim Lang's abiding interest is how food policy
addresses the environment, health, social justice and citizenship.
Mr Lang was on the Council of Food Policy Advisors to the Dept for
Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (2008-10), and was appointed
to the Mayor of London's Food Board in 2010.

Emile Frison, Chair of the Int. Scientific Committee of
the Daniel and Nina Carasso Foundation
Mr Frison is member of the International Advisory Council of the
Svalbard Global Seed Vault and Former Director General of
Bioversity International and he has spent most of his career in
international agricultural research for development